Ash tree help

Hope this is the right forum - have to large ash trees that I would hate to loose to that bore beetle that is plaguing New York. I was quoted over $700 to inoculate my two and I just and justify $700 every two years.

Is there any do it yourself remedies?

They have been previously inoculated by the previous owner to this house

How big is the tree? Tree-age is definitely more effective on larger trees.

Is there any indication of dieback in the tree now? If so, again, Tree-age is the best bet to get it through the initial wave.

If you are ahead of heavy infestation, a generic imidacloprid soil drench is effective if you apply it correctly (right around the base of the tree, into the soil, be close any mulch or turf). I like the 2F formulation. Use .2 oz per inch of diameter of the tree is under 15" dbh or .4 oz per inch if it is over 15".

I had treated at one property from 2008 to 2012. New owner didn't treat. Got back out this year with current owner and they are in decent shape...maybe 20% dead. If those had gone untreated the first 5 years they would have been toast - nine lives through that. There are almost no untreated ash left, so I think the pressure has been much less with lower big population. I am very confident that an appropriate treatment program will keep EAB at bay as long as it is followed. I was initially very doubtful...but have seen otherwise. Early treatment is the key.

To the OP:
If they are just using Tree-age alone at the recommended rate of 5ml/inch, that is a little high, but not bad. If they are using 10ml per inch (which is probably appropriate for just a few years when the initial wave is hitting the area really hard) then $13-14 is probably close to market price. I have done soil treatment (imidacloprid) every year and Tree-age plus soil applied imidacloprid every other year. I was a little over that for the combined using 10ml per inch...but have come below that now using 5ml per inch.

If you don't see any dieback, you can successfully treat with soil applied imidacloprid using .4 oz per inch of the 2F formulation. I have some going on 11 years that still look good...I was recommending stronger treatment when we started, but they didn't want to spend the $$, so chose imidacloprid and it has worked well.

Where in NY? You should get some more quotes as that seems a bit high. It matters in terms of pest pressure or infestation level. Homeowner treatments will not be effective in western NY due to large number of bugs present which are rapidly overwhelming remaining untreated ash trees. Same probably true for most of Finger Lakes region and CNY. After the killing wave runs through you may be able to drop down to homeowner treatments, extend treatment interval or reduce dosage.

Dig a +/- 3" deep by 3" wide trench right around the base the tree being careful to not scrape to the inner bark. Mix .4 oz ot oz per inch of diameter (measured 4.5' high on the trunk) in a gallon of water. Slowly pour that into the trench. I usually make a couple of trips around.the tree letting it soak in rather than run off.